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OU football: Sooners defense gets thrown around in loss to Longhorns

DALLAS — For the season's first five games, Oklahoma's defensive line pushed plenty of people around.

Saturday in a 36-20 whipping at the hands of Texas, the Sooners were the ones being thrown around.

Texas' offensive line dominated the Sooners, and the Longhorns converted third downs short and long, even going after OU's best defenders with success.

The Sooners' defensive day started with nose tackle Jordan Phillips and linebacker Corey Nelson being out of the game, but the troubles went far beyond that.

The Sooners managed no sacks of Texas backup quarterback Case McCoy and didn't offer much resistance to Texas' running game, giving up 255 yards on the ground.

A year ago, in the moments after OU destroyed Texas, Sooners defensive coordinator Mike Stoops went out among the throngs to enjoy a triumphant return to the series.

Saturday, Stoops stood in the Cotton Bowl, sweating with his tie left untied as Longhorns fans celebrated on the midway below.

“They were more physical than we were at the point of attack and anytime that happens, they're going to have success running the football and that really led to our demise pretty much the whole day,” Stoops said. “I didn't feel like we ever had control of the game.”

They didn't.

Texas controlled things from the start, converting three third-downs — two from seven yards or more — on the opening drive and continually taking advantage on third down from there.

The Longhorns finished 13 of 20 on third downs with more than half of those conversions (seven) coming with seven or more yards to go.

They did it by going after a secondary that had been a strength for the Sooners.

On third and 11 in the second quarter, Marcus Johnson pulled a double-move on Kass Everett and hauled in a 59-yard touchdown pass from McCoy.

A drive later, McCoy had Kendal Sanders open after he beat Aaron Colvin, but McCoy overthrew Sanders and the Longhorns had to settle for a field goal.

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by Ryan Aber

OU Athletics Reporter

Ryan Aber has worked for The Oklahoman since 2006, covering high schools, the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the Oklahoma City Barons and OU football recruiting. An Oklahoma City native, Aber graduated from Northeastern State. Before joining The...